


Clone Verse

by Darkicedragon, DyssentyentBeing



Category: Noblesse (Manhwa)
Genre: Clones, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-13
Updated: 2013-08-26
Packaged: 2017-12-23 08:57:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/924399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkicedragon/pseuds/Darkicedragon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DyssentyentBeing/pseuds/DyssentyentBeing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where Crombell decides to clone the trio and add his own modifications.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hit the Ground Running (Part 1/2)

**Author's Note:**

> So, because I like doing things in medias res, the start/any of this won't make any sense. *wry* The basic premise is after season five, Crombell used the information he got to 'clone' his own trio, with added modifications. More in-depth explanations can be found here: http://darkicedragon.tumblr.com/post/52324401023/
> 
> I'll also be putting up a seperate collection for the little snippets that don't fit into the main narrative/plot, or just extra things that may or may not happen by the time we actually reach that point in the main plot.
> 
> Summary: In the middle of a standard mission, BLX-3 discover something.
> 
> Heavy swearing at the start, as well as blood and violence.
> 
> I feel like I should mention this is not like my usual crack and/or domestic fics. Muahaha.

Motherfucking dickfaced-! Lex raced towards the guard shooting at him and broke his arm; while the man was still breathing in to scream, Lex transformed his left hand and tore the guard's throat out with his claws. The guard made a gurgling sound as he fell, but Lex didn't give a fuck right then because there were still three more fucking guards and he'd already been shot four fucking times. 

" _Lex, next time, follow protocol_ ," B-01 said in his ear. Lex snarled at that, seeing the rest of guards pale, the sour scent of their fear reaching his nose, even with all the overpowering gunpowder trying to obscure it. Their aim went shittier when his regeneration shoved the bullets out his body. The bullets clattered to the floor. 

"It was taking too fucking long!" He barrelled forward, ignoring the sting of the few bullets that grazed him, and he punctured the middle guard's bulletproof vest with his claws, her hot blood splattering all over his arm, the metallic scent drowning out everything else. He grabbed her by the collar with his other hand and threw her at the guard on his right, hearing them both crash into the wall hard enough to dent it. He didn't need Xeno's hearing to hear bones snapping. 

Lex whirled around, focusing on the final guard-

Xeno crushed the guard's head with his transformed arm, blood spurting over black tentacles thicker than Lex's wrist and they were running again before the guard hit the floor. 

"What difference does it make if ya get the information before or after?" Lex demanded. "They're dead either way."

" _Our orders were to extract the information first and then clear the target._ "

And orders were to be followed to the letter. Tch. 

" _I have not fully secured the inform - our target is aware of our presence. He is currently on the second floor of the car park._ " A pause. " _There are currently five decoys._ "

"Shit." 

"Lex..."

He glanced across to see Xeno smiling softly at him and Lex scowled. "Fine, I get it - always follow the fucking orders." Even if they were fucking stupid.

If their target was on the second floor and going for a car... They were about to pass another window and Lex grabbed the wall with his left hand, creating deep gouges in it and swung through the window, closing his eyes just before he went through the glass.

"LEX-!"

" _What did he do?_ "

"Jumped out the window!"

As soon as he hit the ground, Lex sprinted, ignoring his cut skin, the wounds already healing by the time he'd taken two steps. 

"... _I see. Xeno, you are currently near the car park's exit; Lex's route will take you there faster. 'Take the plunge'._ "

"WH - All right."

Lex heard the thump of Xeno's landing behind him, but he could also hear the roar of engines and the squeal of tires in front of him. A black SUV, more seen by the streetlight reflecting off its body, screeched out of the car park, smashing through the barrier, two more right on its tail. _Fuck_. 

There were more coming, and Lex ran faster - he reached the exit as another nose of a car slid into view. Snarling, he slashed, cutting through the driver to the other side of the car, and heard the human screaming inside just as Xeno punched through the passenger door, crushing the human. 

They both leaped out the way when the fifth car careened into the fourth, shoving it forward a couple of metres, sparks flying into the air as the sliced metal shrieked across the ground. Lex jumped on top of the fifth car's roof and grabbed the man by the hair as he stumbled out, yanking him off his feet - Lex sliced the man's head off with his claws, drenching his untransformed hand with blood, as well as the car and wall next to them. Lex wrinkled his nose at the mess but it was late, so the blood splattered over his clothes would be harder to see. At least his jacket was dark enough to hide it. 

"Two of the decoys are taken care of," Xeno informed B-01 as Lex hopped off the car, throwing the head further into the car park at the same time and then wiped his hands clean on the unbloodied parts of the man's clothes. Lex turned his hands over once he was done - hn, there was still blood under his nails, but that was fine.

There weren't any curious onlookers yet and Lex and Xeno dashed into the closest shadowy alley, leaping over the wall blocking their way before any could start gathering.

" _Good. I am currently tracking the other three SUVs; I am slowing down their progress as much as I can._ "

"How the hell're you doing that?" Lex asked. She could hack into computers, but the cars were being driven by people; she couldn't control them in the same way, or at all. 

" _Changing the traffic lights to red is simple._ " 

"And how the fuck does that make a difference? They're trying to get away – why would they stop at a fuckin' light like a good citizen?"

" _Because they are trying to not draw attention to themselves_ ," B-01 answered him. " _If they are chased by police and detained, it would then be easy for us to 'pick them off'_."

Hn. "Fine." 

" _Turn left at the second intersection,_ " B-01 instructed them, " _and follow it until the third crossing – go right from there_."

Lex nodded and pushed himself to go faster, trying to find a hint of the black car they were hunting. The blood on Lex's clothes cooled as they moved and it started to get itchy as it clung to Lex's skin.

" _I am unsure, but I think one of the decoys has stopped,_ " B-01 informed them a couple minutes later. 

"'You think'?" Lex repeated. Either she knew or she didn't. 

" _Affirmative. I am currently keeping track of the other two decoys while also trying to slow them down as much as possible. I may have missed the car being evacuated while I was concentrating with the other two._ "

Right. 

They'd been following B-01's orders for a few more minutes when she said, " _Stop_ ," and Lex frowned, scanning the area around them as he slowed down, taking in deep breaths. There were a couple cars parked on the street, but none of them were black and they were shaped wrong. What the hell? " _The SUV is inside the car park to your left – first floor._ "

Lex eyed the entrance of it before he snorted. Another car park, huh? 

" _I have not seen any movement from it for a while_ ," B-01 said as Lex and Xeno entered. There were cars dotted around, but it was largely empty. No black cars in sight.

" _It is in the 24-T block_ ," B-01 told them, and Lex frowned, looking at the pillars. They were at the U section. 

"This way," Xeno murmured, jogging to their right. 

It didn't take them long to find the right section and Lex smirked when he saw the black car. 

"Lex, wait!" Xeno hissed when he stepped forward, pulling him behind a pillar, and wrapping a hand around his mouth before Lex's snarl ripped past his lips. 

" _Xeno is correct,_ " B-01 said just as Lex was about to shove him away. " _It could be a trap_."

Xeno dropped both his hands and stepped away before Lex's swing reached him. 

Glaring and baring his teeth at him, Lex whispered harshly, "And we're wasting time! The bastard could be _inside_ the fucking building and we're waitin' here, worried about what?"

Seconds ticked by, and all Lex could hear was his own rough breathing and the growl rumbling from his throat. 

" _Xeno?_ "

Xeno shook his head. "I can't hear anything coming from the car. No talking or heartbeats."

"So they're inside the building," Lex said, trying to find the door. 

" _That is a possibility_ ," B-01 said. " _But we cannot leave the car unchecked._ " 

Lex's lips quirked up into a triumphant grin. "We going to the car?" 

" _Affirmative_."

Lex's grin widened further and he span on his heel, going towards it.

" _I will – retreat._ "

Lex paused, frowning as he glanced around the area. He couldn't see anyone (or even the camera B-01 was using to spy through) but - 

He felt Xeno's hand on his shoulder just as he heard B-01 _scream_ , " _RETREAT_."

_Shit_. B-01 _never_ raised her voice, and Lex was sure if she'd been fully human, her voice would have cracked. 

Xeno hauled him backwards and Lex turned with it, not snapping at him because there was something _really fucking_ wrong. 

They'd made it three steps before a roar tore the air behind them and they were ripped off their feet as everything burned orange and yellow. Lex didn't have enough time to react (not when it felt like his entire back had been punched solidly by Xeno's transformed fists), bouncing off a car and then crashed to the ground, what little air he had left in his lungs whooshing out of him. 

It was as if someone had reached into his chest and squeezed his lungs so that he could only get so much air, but Lex snarled (he didn't hear that. Where the fuck was his hearing?), shoving himself to his feet, trying to drag as much air into his lungs as he could. 

The world span, but Lex glared around him anyway, at the blazing car in front of him, and the flashing lights of the car alarms. His skin was far too fucking hot, feeling like it was stretched thin over his muscles. He couldn't see anyone else though, except Xeno was still face down on the ground, his back swathed in red. His braid had survived somehow, but dark red patches stood out amongst the purple. 

While he couldn't hear, Lex could still smell and the scent of burning leather and Xeno's blood overwhelmed him. His concentration was a scattered mess, and he couldn't gather enough of it to transform his arms; he grabbed one of the knives he kept at his back instead, holding it in a tight grip. His scrapes and bruises were already mostly healed, and his breathing was becoming easier with every breath.

" _Szzk...ex...Zen..._ " 

Lex scowled - even though he was glad his hearing was back, the static grated on his ears. But if it was grating on _his_ ears, then Xeno's ears - were bleeding, and Lex could see the shattered pieces of his communication device there. Shit, it wasn't surprising Xeno hadn't moved yet, only blinking as he lay there. 

" _-no. Lex. Respond. NOW._ "

Growling, Lex said, "We're here. The fucking-"

" _Good. You are alive. I - report your situation. The camera feed disappeared._ "

Xeno groaned, his hands twitching as his transformation receded. Nodding, Lex got back to keeping an eye out for someone trying to pick them off.

"Explosion," Lex told her. "The target's gone." Unless he'd been in the car at the time but _that_ was fucking unlikely. 

"Huh, what?" Xeno slurred. "That was an explosion?" 

Lex glared at him. "Dumbass, what did you think it was?" 

"Dunno," Xeno said as he got up to his hands and knees – and then threw up the contents of his stomach.

"The hell?" Lex yelped, looking at the mess – there wasn't any blood in it, this time. 

" _What is happening?_ " B-01 said, almost sounding urgent. 

"Xeno puked his guts out. Again."

" _I see. The pressure of the blast may have caused that reaction._ "

"I'm fine," Xeno said, shaking his head as he got to his feet, wiping at his mouth with a hand, a small smile on his face.

And then he froze, his smile replaced with a frown; his eyes flicked upwards. 

Shit, what had he heard?

" _You need to leave,_ " B-01 said. The last time she'd said that... They were already running as B-01 continued, " _The integrity of the building is no longer sound - it-_ "

Lex could hear the building groan after her words – it was a low sound, like someone waking up, and he swore again, just as he heard the first wave of concrete hitting the ground. 

It didn't stop, more and more of the building crumbling around them and the impact reverberated up Lex's feet and he sneezed at the dust trying to choke him. They got out, the cloud of dust chasing them further. 

"Hah, fucker," Lex wheezed as he and Xeno increased the distance between them and the collapsing building, "at least that bastard's dead – no way he survived that."

" _He was not in the building,_ " B-01 said and Lex snarled. " _No-one was; the building was completely abandoned._ " 

"Are you fucking serious?" Lex demanded. 

" _Yes._ "

"So it _had_ been a trap," Xeno huffed. 

Lex scowled and they continued running. 

They stopped at an alley when they felt they were far enough away, watching the police cars and ambulances zoom past, their lights not quite reaching far enough into the alley to reveal them. The scent of Xeno's blood was still heavy in the air and Lex could hear him panting.

"Oi," Lex said, keeping a look out just in case they had been followed as he leaned against the wall, hooking his thumbs into his belt hoops, "take your pills."

"Lex, I'm-"

He rolled his eyes, tilting his head to give Xeno a look. That made Xeno stop, his mouth still open as his gaze flicked away. 

" _Lex is correct_ ," B-01 added. " _You need to take your pills. They will aid your regeneration._ "

Xeno shook his head. "My back's already healed; I don't need-"

"Yeah, and how much energy do you have left?" Lex interrupted, an eyebrow raised. 

" _Xeno_ ," B-01 said, " _Your heart rate is currently 220 beats per minute. Your body will start degrading soon._ "

"But..." Xeno opened and closed his mouth and he sighed, tugging on his braid as his gaze drifted away.

"Am I gonna hafta to shove one down your throat again?" Lex said, eyeing him from the corner of his eyes.

"Haha, no," Xeno said, shaking his head, a small smile on his lips. He sighed, looking up. "Okay, I'll take them." 

Lex moved a little further into the alley so he could keep an eye on both their surroundings and Xeno. The pills Xeno shook out of his popper were blue, almost the same shade as a couple of X-series' hair he'd seen before, and Lex sometimes wondered if that was the point. If that was supposed to transfer to Xeno's hair or some shit like that. 

Whatever; it wasn't like the scientists would tell him if he asked. Or maybe they would, but would be a bunch of lies they said to amuse themselves as they laughed at him. 

Lex saw Xeno put one pill in his mouth and then swallow, grimacing afterwards. Lex turned his head away to check on their surroundings again, hearing Xeno slump against the wall, breathing deeply. 

"Still makes my skin crawl," Xeno muttered. 

"It'll pass," Lex said, seeing no-one who looked like they were interested in their little corner. "Better than fuckin' having to carry your body back when you faint." 

Xeno chuckled. "You can carry my weight."

Lex snorted, relaxing further on the wall. Of course he could. "The hell am I supposed to fight properly if I'm carrying your ass on one shoulder?"

"Ah? Can't handle a few unmodified humans?" Xeno teased. 

Lex sent him an irritated glare, and wasn't at all surprised to see Xeno smiling again but at least it wasn't as strained as his previous one. "Fuck you, asshole." They both knew he could deal with unmodified humans by himself. 

Xeno chuckled again. 

" _Return to our hideout_ ," B-01 ordered and Lex frowned. What about the other two cars?

"What happened?" Xeno asked. 

" _I was unable to keep track of the other two decoys_ ," she informed them, the pauses in between her words longer than usual. " _I focused on you when the explosion happened, and I 'lost them'._ "

Haa, shit. There went the fucking mission. 

" _That is not our only problem_ ," she continued. " _We have 'been had'._ "

"Huh?" Xeno said. "What do you mean?"

" _I have been able to decode some of the information I managed to retrieve._ " She paused. " _I will inform you once you return to the hideout._ " 

"Roger," Lex said, heavy with sarcasm, snorting. Great, what _else_ was wrong? He looked back at Xeno. "You ready?"

"Mm, yeah," Xeno said, nodding. He pulled off the remains of his top with a slight grimace. Xeno's blood had already dried at the ragged edges, staining the top a dark red. "I'm glad it's night," he muttered. "I'd draw too much attention."

Lex snorted as he took off his own. "They'd only stare at you - they wouldn't follow us."

"Lex..." Xeno said, shaking his head as he balled up the top in his hands. "We're trying to be _discreet_ \- that means not drawing attention and _not being remembered_."

He rolled his eyes. "You've lost your top; that's not memorable. The blood would draw more attention than you being topless." Which was why they were taking them off.

Xeno only sighed as they started moving again.

* * *

The return trip to the abandoned building they were using as their hideout was uneventful, and Lex and Xeno slipped in. It wasn't that different from the other places they'd stayed at – it was dirtier, with a couple broken chairs and a couple whole ones too, with a wooden table in the middle of the room, everything covered in dust that must have flown in from the bare open window. It had a damp, musty smell clinging to it that meant there was a leak somewhere but Lex wasn't bothered enough to find out where. And it wasn't like he was going to _fix_ it, not when they only stayed around for a few days at a time.

B-01 was waiting for them as she stood by a wall, her only movement blinking. Lex checked if she'd plugged herself into an outlet, not sure if she was sleeping or not. 

She wasn't, and she tilted her head at them when Xeno closed the door. Her eyes went to the tattered tops in their hands and she nodded; they weren't supposed to leave their genetic material behind if they could. They handed her their tops and Lex saw her fingers spark a second before the tops caught fire. She dropped them to the ground before it reached her fingers. 

While the fire spread, the scent of it far more soothing than the burning car, Lex went to the backpack at B-01's feet. "We weren't followed," Lex told her, and pulled out a pair of tops. He lobbed one to Xeno and slipped the other one on. He went to one of the creaky chairs on the other side of the room and lounged on it, propping his feet up on another chair and tipped his back so only its back legs were on the floor. 

"Good." She waited for Xeno to settle when he leaned back on the table before continuing. "From the data I have currently gone through, there was no target."

Lex frowned, listening. What the hell did that mean?

"All five SUVs contained a decoy."

The front two legs of Lex's chair hit the floor with a bang. "Are you fucking - the target was still in the _fucking building_?" Lex demanded, lunging to his feet. They'd ran away, leaving their target behind? 

"No," B-01 said, tilting her head to look up at him. "He was never in the building." 

"What?"

"The organisation knew we were coming five days prior to our attack and set up counter measures," she explained. "I cannot find any information on where our target is, but suffice to say, they will know that we were there, and may have already evacuated their safehouse." 

"Fuck," Lex hissed. 

She blinked twice. "We failed this mission." 

Lex threw himself back into his chair, scowling. 

"Incoming message," B-01 said, her eyes half-closing. "BLX-13 has completed their mission - all their intended targets were cleared." 

"Ah, that's..." Xeno trailed off. Lex looked across and saw him fiddling with his braid again, his head bowed. 

"It is a little worrying," B-01 said, her eyes fully open again. "If we drop down the ranking too much, we will need to go for another evaluation." 

Lex snorted, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, we don't need to be reminded." He was already growling at the thought of the scientists poking and prodding him again. _Any_ time between evaluations was too fucking little. 

Xeno let out a breath, but when he raised his head, he was smiling. "We can't do anything about it now, but we'll complete our next mission." 

"Affirmative," B-01 said. "'Our hands are tied' at the moment; we can only wait for the opportunity to prove ourselves next time." Her eyes half-lidded again. "Incoming message: BLX-28's mission ended in failure."

"Good," Lex said, a grin quirking on his lips. "That means if-"

"Their entire cell has been 'wiped out'."

Lex froze, his head whipping to her. "The fuck?" fell out of his mouth. "The hell killed them?" Killing one member of their cell was hard enough (and that was when they had Xeno in their cell, whose body seemed like it'd rather fall apart than fucking stabilise); who or what the hell had enough power to kill _all three_? With the types of missions they got, the only thing Lex could think of was other modified humans. 

"What was their mission?" Xeno asked. 

"Accessing..." B-01 blinked, and then a minute crease appeared on her forehead. "The mission is classified."

"Classif - How the fuck did they get a classified mission?" Lex demanded. BLX-28 hadn't been that much higher than them in the ranking.

"It would seem - Incoming message." B-01's eyes half-closed again. "BLX-54 and BLX-22 also failed their mission." She paused, the crease deepening on her forehead. "Their status is also dead." 

"...What the fuck?" Lex breathed, shaking his head. "Somethin's up. There's no fuckin' way _three_ cells got wiped out at the same time."

Xeno nodded. "Yeah." He peered at B-01. "Did they upload what their mission was?" 

B-01 tilted her head. "Their missions are classified."

Lex lifted his lip, baring his teeth before he got to his feet again and started to prowl up and down the room.

"Fucking scientists," Lex muttered under his breath. "They were probably testing something." It would explain why so many cells got a classified mission.

"I find that unlikely," B-01 said. "If that were true, then I would have been recalled as well." 

Lex stopped pacing and frowned at her. "Why would you have been called? The scientists would've just grabbed a couple cells and did whatever." He swept out an arm. "It's not like it's a big _deal_ or anything if some of us die," he spat. "There's too many of us around as there is." He growled, jerking his head away as he remembered the bits of conversations he'd overheard between scientists. 

No-one said anything to that before Xeno hummed. "B-01, what were their ranks…?" he asked.

"Accessing... BLX-28, group ranking: sixteen. BLX-54, group ranking: twelve. BLX-22, group ranking: twenty." B-01 blinked. "They were not the 'hot shots', but they were not in the re-evaluation zone either." 

Lex growled as he went back to pacing. "So what about the high rankers? What were they doing?" There had to be _something_ that wasn't just 'dead'. 

"At this point, all top rankers are currently alive, but their mission details are also public and not yet completed, with the exception of BLX-95. They have a classified mission, but they have yet to complete it." She paused. "Incoming message: BLX-95, mission success." 

Lex snorted, shaking his head. "One. _One_ cell made it out alive." He crossed his arms, already feeling his nails start to sharpen into claws, his fangs lengthening as his body responded to his want to _fight_ something, _do_ something to get rid of his restless energy. That was far too many classified missions all at once; something was happening. 

"It would appear that the power of a single-digit rank was what was needed to complete the classified mission."

"Experiment," Lex corrected, growling. 

"Yeah…" Xeno said, playing with his braid like he usually did when he thought, wrapping it around his hand. "Maybe their strength was what was needed to resist whatever the scientists were doing to them."

Lex nodded.

"The remaining BLX cells are on missions that are publically displayed." B-01 paused, tilting her head. "We have moved up a rank."

Lex turned back to her, frowning. "How the fuck did we go _up_ a rank when we failed?" That didn't make any sense. 

"With the deaths of BLX-28, BLX-54 and BLX-22, all cells were moved accordingly to 'fill the blanks'." B-01's eyes fully opened again. "However, I cannot 'shake' your idea, Lex. There are far too many coincidences."

He snorted, looking away and he started to wander up and down the room again, kicking at bits of trash in his way before going to the fire and he started to kick whatever he could into it. 

"They're _scientists_ ," Lex said, curling his lip. "They do whatever the fuck they want. We can't stop them, and they wouldn't tell us anything if we asked." Fuck, if they did, the scientists would probably use that as an excuse to say they _volunteered_ to whatever shit they were doing. 

"Yeah, they wouldn't," Xeno agreed, unwinding his braid now, running his thumb over the tail. "But..." He took a deep breath, glancing at B-01. "I think we should still try to find out."

Lex span sharply to gape at him, his thoughts halting. Was Xeno asking what he thought he was? 

B-01 didn't say anything in response to Xeno's hint, but Lex couldn't help his half-laugh. Maybe. Maybe they could convince her. B-01 was a bioroid - she was almost just as much nanotech as she was human, and _that_ meant practically having no will when given orders by the Union. If the Union told her she wasn't supposed to dive too far into their database, then she'd store that in her memory and never think about it again. Orders were orders. It was that simple.

But. 

But she'd let them make their own names, even when they'd already been assigned one by the scientists. Even if she hadn't made one for herself, that still meant she was willing to bend the rules, just a little.

He growled, crossing his arms, bringing his attention back to her. "We need a heads up, in case the fuckers are going after us next." 

"That is against regulations, Lex," B-01 said, tilting her head up at him.

He smirked anyway, seeing what her answer _really_ meant: it wasn't a no. If she had no intention of following through, she would have shut him down immediately. Which meant there _was_ some shred of human in her somewhere, even after what the scientists had done to her body. 

"Yeah," he drawled, pressing his point, "but those scientists could be doing this shit for their own fuckin' _amusement_. I'd rather be a traitor and alive than _dead_ because they wanted to test something out and we got picked from the hat." Even if they wouldn't survive for long, one way or another. 

He didn't look away when B-01 continued to gaze at him, flexing his hands on his biceps, his heart racing. They'd just asked her to hack into the fucking Union's database. She had every right to report them for that and if the scientists killed them because they were getting too wilful, it would be _their own fucking fault_. 

B-01 nodded and Lex watched her every move, trying to pick out a twitch, a tilt of the head, anything that could tell him what she was thinking. "'All is fair in love and war'."

Lex sucked in a breath, his eyes wide. She was going to do it? She was actually going to break regulations for them?

Her eyes travelled to Xeno. "Your expressions are surprised."

"Ah, of course we're surprised," Xeno said, the corners of his mouth lifting up in a quick smile as he shared a glance with him. "We thought you wouldn't do it."

"Your safety is important to me," B-01 said as she reached into her backpack and pulled out her orange metal collar. It was thick enough that Lex wouldn't be able to wrap his hand around the main body of it and it wasn't a complete circle, the front of it open, the ends of the collar tapering off to blunt points. She clipped it to her neck. "I have been trying to access the main database since the last time we were evaluated."

Lex couldn't stop himself from straightening when he heard that. She'd already-? He glanced at Xeno, whose eyebrows were also raised. Huh, maybe they didn't have to worry as much about her reporting them to the Union as they thought. 

Lex went to the window, leaning against the wall as he made sure there wasn't anyone hanging outside. Xeno went from his table to the door, peering around it, even when his hearing would tell him if there was anyone there.

B-01 didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Thank you." 

Lex snorted, not turning to her. "What for?"

She was silent before saying: "They have reinforced their firewalls." Her voice was lower than usual and when Lex looked, her eyes were dimmer as well. ...She really had been hacking into the database for their sakes, huh. 

It was weird to think about when he'd gotten used to the fact that she was barely human, far less human than they were. While he and Xeno were modified humans, they could pass as them; B-01, on the other hand, was still learning about the little things that made her stand out - facial expressions, humour, and gestures, to start off with. 

Yeah, she _looked_ human, a foot shorter than him with shoulder length white hair for whatever reason the scientists had chosen, but even Lex picked up something was off when she talked - there were too even breaks between each word when she spoke and there was no lilt to them. She sounded like one of those voice programmes one of the scientists had installed in their computer before being told to shut it off because it pissed off everyone else whenever it talked. 

He'd just gotten used to her being a good little bio, always doing what the Union told her. If she wasn't like that, hn, maybe he didn't have to worry so much.

"I am in," B-01 said, and Lex shook his head, pulling himself away from his thoughts. She had plugged a white usb into her collar, probably to help with her hacking; he hadn't seen her hack much, not when they were usually in the middle of a mission at the same time. "I cannot control what I am seeing, however," she told them, "or else I will be detected."

Lex snorted. "Just tell us what you see; anything could be important." With how the scientists had named their generation, he wouldn't be surprised if the information they needed had a title that was just a string of numbers.

"Doctor Khang is playing solitaire," B-01 said, and Lex huffed, already knowing what she was going to say next. "Breach of conduct."

"B-01," he said, "they don't give a fuck about that. And that's not important." 

B-01 only blinked, going silent again, and then said, "'Jackpot'. The BLX cells that were given the classified mission...were given the same one. I cannot access what it is yet." 

Lex growled, glaring out the window again. That confirmed it – the scientists were up to something. There wasn't anything that would take out three cells at once. 

B-01 pulled out another usb, this one blue, and plugged it into her collar next to the other one. "Saving file. I need to get out now."

"That's fine," Lex said, looking away. They would have what they needed, and if not, it could give them a lead. 

"Saving comp-" 

_Thud_.

Lex whirled around. B-01 was sprawled out on the floor, far more loose limbed than he'd ever seen her, and he could see just enough of her face that her eyes weren't focused on anything, her irises dim like she was recharging or busy.


	2. Hit the Ground Running (Part 2/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the middle of a standard mission, BLX-3 discover something.

" _Shit_ ," Lex hissed, dashing over, Xeno already at her side. He crouched opposite Xeno. 

"I can still hear her heartbeat," Xeno said, his fingers pressed to her wrist anyway, "but..." He peered at her before shaking his head. "I don't know what happened."

"You think I do?" Lex growled. It could have been a number of things: the Union having viruses, or their firewalls had shut her down. Fuck, for all they knew, it could have been their fucking target locking onto _th_ -

"Fuck," he said, glancing at the window. 

"What's wrong?" 

Lex glowered, clenching his hands into fists. "Our target." He'd only been looking out the window; they could have been surrounded on the other sides, or their target had tracked them down through the channels B-01 had been using. 

"Wh - Ah."

Lex got to his feet. "We need to get out of here." 

Xeno nodded and picked B-01 up in his arms, resting her head against his shoulder. Hn, it would be better if Xeno carried her, if he was still recovering from the fight. Not that Xeno would admit to that unless he'd really been badgered. 

Lex grabbed her backpack, putting it on his back, and they left the building the way they came, their footsteps echoing around them as they went down the corridors. No-one was waiting for them outside from what Lex could see but he couldn't help his soft growl. He could see well enough at night, but that wasn't _enough_. Not when there could be snipers he couldn't see at the windows or rooftops. He could take regular bullets no problem, but those rounds… They would slow them down and they couldn't afford that. 

B-01 would have been able to tell them if they were surrounded in a couple seconds.

He hissed, making one last sweep of the area around them and then started dashing down the street. There wasn't anything they could do but wait for her to regain consciousness.

No-one jumped out at them, and there was no retort of guns either; in some ways, that was fucking _worse_ , not knowing if they were about to be attacked. 

"How far do you think we should go?" Xeno murmured. 

"Anywhere that isn't fuckin' _here_ ," Lex said, leading them in the opposite direction they'd came. They could move away fast enough, but that meant fuck all if their every move was being tracked. 

"I think we should find somewhere with outlets, in case she needs to charge," Xeno suggested. 

Lex was too busy scanning the area to stare at Xeno. "The hell would she need to charge?" She'd been fine before she'd collapsed. 

"It can't hurt, can it? If she used up too much energy keeping track of all the decoys and then hacking into the database…"

Lex sighed. "Right." They'd give it a shot. They were still far too close to their hideout though. The streets were nearly completely empty, only one or two people dotted around. Lex kept his eye on them anyway as they passed, in case they were other agents. The people didn't seem to give them any attention.

"I think she's rebooting," Xeno said a couple minutes later, and Lex nodded. 

"Good." Hopefully that meant whatever had happened hadn't done any permanent damage. 

The further they went and nothing happened, Lex started to relax. If their target had come after them, they would have been attacked by now. 

Lex turned his head when he heard Xeno hum. There wasn't any warning to it, and Xeno was eyeing the building they had stopped next to while Lex checked if the coast was clear. 

"What?"

"This building," Xeno said, leaning as close to it as he could with B-01 in his arms, "I think it's empty." 

Lex nodded, trying to see if there was an entrance they could use that wouldn't draw attention. 

When he looked up, there was a small open window, about two floors up. For a regular human, that would have been too high a jump, the flat wall unscalable, which was probably why it had been left open in the first place; neither he or Xeno were regular humans.

"Hey," he said, jerking his head upwards. It took one bound to reach the window, and he grabbed the sill with one hand, resting his feet on the wall as he checked what Xeno was doing below him. 

Xeno nodded, but then indicated B-01, lifting her up slightly. Hn, right. 

Lex pulled the window open as far as it would go, glad it didn't make a noise, and slipped inside. It looked like he was in a dining room, one big table away in the corner with chairs around it, pictures and useless ornaments dotted around the place. Why the hell did people _buy_ this shit? The place smelled of cigarette smoke and pungent fake flowers and Lex wrinkled his nose. 

He heard Xeno jump to the window by the slight scuffle and soft exclamation. B-01 was over his shoulder now, Xeno keeping her in place with a hand. 

"Here," Xeno said, giving her to him, and Lex pulled her in. Xeno grabbed her feet before they thudded to the floor as he hopped in.

While Lex adjusted how he held her so she was properly in his arms, Xeno started going up to the walls, peering behind furniture. 

"Ah, found one," Xeno said, gesturing to an outlet that was on the other side of the room and Lex went over to him, setting her down on the floor, putting her backpack down next to her. 

Xeno crouched on B-01's other side, tilting her head to face Lex; he tugged her charging cord out her collar and plugged her in. 

Her irises flickered and then finally stabilised, staying a solid blue. While Lex was watching her, she blinked, and Lex huffed, relieved at seeing her react. Her eyes moved, centring more, and she blinked again. "Restarting core functions." She sounded…completely lifeless.

"The fuck does _that_ mean?" he hissed, jerking his head up to stare at Xeno, who was frowning. Why the fuck would she be-

"It's just as she says – she's restarting her core functions."

Lex scowled at him. " _That's_ fucking useful." He'd just repeated what she'd said!

Xeno ignored him, his entire attention on B-01. "Lex, her heartbeat..." Xeno leaned closer to her. "It's getting weaker."

Her heart – Lex checked her plug, but it was still in the outlet and it had been working before. There shouldn't be any reason why her heartbeat was getting weaker. 

"C-code…1050…" B-01 stuttered, sounding like she could barely understand the words she was saying, her eyes going unfocused. "Initiating life support." 

"Code - dammit," Xeno hissed. "Lex, the keys - the usbs! Take them out!"

The fuck for? But Lex yanked them out anyway, watching B-01 for a reaction. 

"Battery cell charge at twenty-five percent," she murmured, her eyes dimming again. 

Xeno didn't tear his eyes away from her. "Her heartbeat's... Yeah, it's steady now." He leaned back on his heels as he let out a long sigh, tugging on his braid. 

Lex frowned at the keys in his hand before pocketing them. He knew shit all about technology apart from the basics, so for all he knew, if B-01 tried to access them again, she'd end up in the exact same position, but they might hold information they needed. They could be useful later on.

B-01 took in a deep breath, and her eyes tracked him before they snapped to a blood red. Lex waited, frowning. He'd only seen her eyes go like that once, and that had been in the middle of a fight. Her eyes flicked back to their normal blue after a second. "Identified: Lex, aka, L-68, Lexate." That was a little weird, but she recognised him. 

She turned her head towards Xeno. After a few seconds she said, "Identified: Xeno, aka, X-87." 

Xeno smiled at her. "How are you feeling?" 

"My body is not responding."

Lex frowned, sweeping a look over her body. She'd had worse damage before; that shouldn't have affected anything. But he hadn't seen anything that could make her shut down like that either.

"Ah," Xeno said, but his smile didn't falter, "your systems rebooted, so I think everything is catching up."

"I see," B-01 said. She looked between them and then at the room. "This is not our hideout." 

Lex snorted, getting to his feet and going back over to the window. "We had to bail when you dropped on us." He peeked out the window, trying to see if there was anyone out in the street. There was a drunk pair stumbling away from the building, and he could hear their loud conversation about football with exaggerated gestures and that was it. He watched them anyway, trying to listen out for any other sounds.

"...'Dropped'?"

"Mm," Xeno said. "You shut down suddenly. We weren't sure if you had been caught by the Union or if our target had tracked us down so we thought the best thing to do was to leave, in case we were about to be attacked." 

"Understood." 

There was a pause. "B-01..." Xeno said slowly, "can you – ah. Persocom status report."

"Data... Analysing... Analysing voice command. Xeno. 'Persocom status report.'"

Lex narrowed his eyes as he listened to the conversation behind him, crossing his arms. There wasn't anything he could do here; Xeno was the one who'd been trained on the command functions for bios. 

"Status: updates from the main server were downloaded but not installed. Recovery of previous data is underway."

He turned away from the window to look at her, frowning. Why the fuck was she getting updates from the server _now_? Xeno looked as concerned he felt, his lips a thin line. It seemed too much of a coincidence to Lex. 

B-01's hand twitched, and so did her opposite foot, and Lex watched them. She was getting control over her body back, at least.

Lex eyed her. "Why did you need to update?" 

"Lex. 'Why did you need to update.' There were updates available for installation; updates are customary to ensure full efficiency."

He snorted. He'd heard _that_ enough times already. 

"B-01, recount the events of the last...hm, approximately forty minutes," Xeno said.

"Recounting... B-01 accessed the main Union database and discovered BLX-22, BLX-28, BLX-54, and BLX-95 all received the same classified mission. BLX-95 succeeded; BLX-22, BLX-28, and BLX-54 failed their mission, resulting in death. Saving data. Data is saved. Discovered malicious recode virus. Activated automatic systems shut down to prevent further damage."

A fucking _what_ virus? He glanced at Xeno to see how he had reacted, but Xeno was focused on her, his brow creased. 

"Relocation by teammates. Unsure of current location. Recount complete."

Lex stared at her, still trying to process what she'd said. "She shut herself down to save herself?"

Xeno nodded. "Looks like it." He pursed his lips. "A recode virus..." He let out a breath. "That doesn't sound too good."

Lex snorted. "Stating the obvious. What's it do?"

"Going by the name..." Xeno sent him a small smile and Lex glared at him. The fuck did he have to _tease_ all the time? The smile disappeared as Xeno looked at her again. "She doesn't sound like it's affecting her anymore, at least."

"Recovery complete," B-01 said, her hands fully clenching into fists and then relaxing. Her eyes closed. "Activating persocom." 

Lex watched her, hoping she'd be the same as she was before. 

"'Crickey'," was the first thing out her mouth before she'd even opened her eyes, and Lex let out a relieved sigh. She opened her eyes, and they were their regular blue, glowing normally. "'That was a close one'." 

Lex turned back to look out the window.

Xeno chuckled. "Yeah, it was. Are you back to one-hundred percent?"

"Affirmative," B-01 said. "Battery cell charge: one-hundred percent." He heard her sit up, and Lex turned to them, frowning. 

"Oi. What're you doing?" 

"I am sitting up," she said, and Lex rolled his eyes, sighing. He should have expected that answer. 

"So," Xeno said as he reached over to the outlet and unplugged B-01, "what should we do? Do we stay here or do we keep moving?" 

"We are leaving," B-01 said, and he and Xeno nodded. She pressed something on her collar and her power cord zipped back in. 

Lex ducked through the window and stood on the sill, using one hand on the top of the frame to stay there while he waited for the others. Xeno followed him, staying on the other side. Lex peered through the gap in the curtains when B-01 didn't appear. "Oi, are ya-"

B-01 dived out the window, landing on her feet. 

Xeno chuckled. "That was little too much effort, B-01."

"'Ten'," she said, before turning to them. Her collar was gone, and she was carrying her backpack. "I wanted to make sure everything was still in working order." 

"And you say _I_ need to be more fucking subtle," Lex muttered before he jumped off the window sill and landed next to her. She took one large step forward, did a small jump and then nodded. 

Xeno landed behind them, and they started moving instantly. 

Lex looked around. The sky was starting to brighten, revealing clouds that looked like they would promise rain. "So where do we go from here?" He grimaced at the thought of going back to the lab, but they were going to have to go back there eventually for one reason or another. 

B-01 didn't say anything for a few seconds. "The lab wants us to report back."

"Ugh, fuck." They were out of the re-evaluation zone; why were they being re-called?

"They want us to meet with someone at their rendezvous point." 

…That was a little different, but if that meant they weren't going to the lab or being evaluated, then he was fine with that. But…when things changed, there was usually a reason. 

"Where do we meet them?" Xeno asked. 

When B-01 didn't respond, Lex frowned and glanced at her. "Oi." 

She blinked, looking at them. "Ah, my apologies. It is this way," she said, leading the way. 

They didn't say anything for a few minutes as they followed B-01. 

"I may be in a 'spot of bother' now," B-01 said. 

Lex hissed, his eyes going wide. What? …Fuck. "They know you hacked into the database already?" It was the Union –they had eyes _everywhere_ \- but shit. That was too fucking quick. 

"I am hoping it does not come to that," B-01 said. "Perhaps they wish to speak to us about our performance."

He grimaced as he hooked his thumbs into his pockets. "Our shitty one." It hadn't made a difference in this mission, but if their target hadn't known they were coming, _he_ would have cost them it. If they were called back to the lab because of him…

"I did my best to remain as discreet as possible. But..." B-01 trailed off. "Hm. Hopefully this will not be mentioned."

Xeno studied her for a couple of seconds. "Hey, you okay?" 

"Of course," she replied. "I am perfectly fine." 

"Liar." Xeno smiled, pointing to his ear when B-01 turned to face him. "Your heartbeat is pretty fast, B-01. You sure you're not freaked out by anything?"

Lex snorted. "What, you think we'll tell the Union you're worried?" Why the hell would they tell the scientists _anything_? There was no need to, and if they did, it would mean re-evaluation, and no way would they ever make any one of their own go through more than they had to. 

"Not at all," B-01 said. They turned down into another dim alley, untouched by any streetlights or moonlight and after a second, a soft blue glow emitted from B-01's eyes, helping them see better. "I am not worried."

Lex glanced at Xeno, wondering if she was lying again. He could never tell if B-01 was lying (he didn't even know if she could lie – hold information back, yeah, but not actually _lie_ ) when her expression hardly ever changed, her face usually blank. 

Xeno caught his look and shook his head. 

B-01 turned around, facing both of them. "I am fine. I assure you both." 

Lex huffed, and then let out a soft laugh. "Fine. Hearing all this repetitiveness is getting boring." He looked around at their surroundings, trying to see if there was anyone else in the vicinity. "Let's get this fucking meeting over with." He didn't know how far they were from their meeting point, but he'd rather keep their contact with the Union to the minimum. 

"Right," Xeno said. "You're right, B-01. You're – you're fine."

Lex raised an eyebrow at Xeno, who did the same back. What the hell? There was awkward, and then there was _Xeno_. And eugh, he wasn't going to say the same thing as Xeno. Lex turned his head away again. 

"A little bit more and we are there," B-01 said, as they started walking up an incline. They were entering a more residential area, shops and offices giving way to apartment buildings. At the top of the hill was an entrance to a car park. 

Lex eyed it. "Are you fucking serious." It was _another_ car park? 

"Yes," she said, pointing at something that was standing next to the door. Lex had thought it was one of the ticket dispensers but it was probably a scanner that would only let certain people in. 

The security door started to rise once they were a couple of metres away from it, and Lex hunched his shoulders, steeling himself as he followed her inside. It looked like a large scale car park, nearly all the spaces taken. Lex glowered at all the cars. Everything was brightly lit, none of the lights flickering, the only shadows cast by the pillars and cars. 

He almost walked into B-01's back when she stopped suddenly once they were halfway across the floor. "B-"

"'Hold your horses'," she said quietly.

Lex shut his mouth, scanning the area. The door shut out the wind from outside when it finished losing behind them, not with the rattle like other security doors. Xeno jerked a look over his shoulder when it did; it was probably sound proof, then. Lex couldn't see anyone, but with the multiple levels, whoever it was would probably be a few floors up. 

When B-01 hurried over to a pillar, Lex clenched his hand, feeling the back of it itch as fur sprouted there, and then he ducked to go hide behind the body of a car, glaring at it. He saw Xeno go a little further right than them, keeping in sight. 

Fuck. They couldn't have walked into a trap – B-01's orders came straight from the Union – unless someone had hacked _them_ to give B-01 false orders… No. That was impossible. But then what the fuck was it? Unless this was exactly what the Union wanted.

B-01 gestured to both of them not to move and they nodded. 

"Hello, sir," B-01 said, and Lex twitched, not expecting her voice to _echo_ like that. It didn't sound like her voice was coming from her either, more like from the other end of the car park. Why was she – right. So it'd be harder to pinpoint where exactly they were. "It is nice to meet you."

"Oh, for the love of-!" Lex heard from somewhere above them. It wasn't a voice he recognised, but the scientists usually rotated every once in a while. 

"Not to worry," someone else said, sounding amused. "It's perfectly fine.

"Won't you come out?" the second voice continued. "It's such a shame to think that I'm _that_ scary." 

Lex narrowed his eyes, feeling himself bristle. The guy was part of the Union, and probably a scientist. And he sounded like Doctor _Limbourg_ , always fucking smiling and sounding cheerful even when he was pissed. 

"It is unfortunate that I should choose this way to talk to you, sir," B-01 replied, still throwing her voice. "But I have come to distrust car parks a little."

Lex couldn't stop his snort, eyeing the distance between them and the exit. The door was flimsy enough that one hit would crumple it, but they'd been given orders and they were pushing it, even now. And if the door could completely block off sounds, it was probably thick. 

"Oh?" the second voice said, drawing the sound out, the end lilting up like it was a question. "That sounds like some story."

"May I call you Yuri, sir?" B-01 continued and Lex frowned, throwing Xeno a look. The fuck did she know who he was talking to by his fucking _voice_? Lex hadn't recognised it, but maybe different scientists oversaw everything when she was being re-evaluated. 

Xeno's wince said otherwise. 

'Who's that?' he signed to Xeno. 

Xeno mouthed 'Yuri', signing it at the same time, and Lex rolled his eyes. Xeno signed, 'glasses'.

…He was a fucking scientist; how the fuck were glasses supposed to be a fucking distinctive feature? Half of them wore them!

Xeno covered his face with a palm. 'Later.'

Lex sighed, turning his attention back to the conversation. 

"-in my position? But I would like to address you by something more…official, if you do not mind," B-01 said. 

A chuckle. "You may call me by my name."

"Thank you," B-01 said. 

"May I ask yours?" Yuri asked and Lex narrowed his eyes, growling softly. What the hell? They had been called here because of them! Why the fuck was he asking?

"The scientist beside you knows my name, Yuri," B-01 said. "You had instructed him to tell me to bring my cell here. I am not capable of breaking regulations-" 

Lex huffed, smirking. Huh, so she really had learned to lie. 

"-so I came."

"Rude little-" the first voice muttered under his breath. 

Yuri chuckled. "How cute of you, _B-01_. That is your name, isn't it?"

Lex scowled, clenching his hands. What the fuck was this asshole playing at? He had all the fucking information, so why was he dragging it out like this? 

"It is."

"And your teammates are L-68 and X-87?" 

"That is correct."

"And your cell number is BLX-3?" 

"Pardon my interruption, Yuri, sir, but I would like to know why this is necessary. According to regulations, I am not to shut off my signal traces. Therefore, all of this information should be accessible to you."

…What the hell were signal traces? Lex glanced at Xeno, wondering if he knew, but Xeno had closed his eyes, his head facing them. Must be for listening better. 

Yuri chuckled again, and Lex was starting to hate that fucking sound. "You know the regulations better than I do, B-01." 

"'Course she does, you fuckin' asshole," Lex muttered under his breath. She was a bio – following regulations was literally in her fucking code. The only reason why she hadn't beem following regulations recently was because her personality matrix was developing enough that she was starting to think past blindly following the Union's orders - or that was what Xeno had thought, when Lex had asked him. 

Xeno stiffened, and his eyes snapped open. His hands whipped up. 'Six heartbeats.' 

_Shit_. Lex hissed, straightening. What were they there for? 

'Not moving.' There was that, at least, but it didn't make Lex feel better. 

"I will ask again," Yuri said, and Lex tensed, hearing the hard edge in his voice. They were pushing it too close now. "Your cell number is BLX-3?"

"It is," B-01 responded. 

Why the hell did that asshole want to know so bad? He knew everything, so why was he wasting their time making her confirm? 

Lex flexed his hands, nudging his transformation further, his nails lengthening into claws.

"Thank you for your co-operation," Yuri said. "You can go."

…That was it? Lex took in a deep breath, trying to steady his thoughts when he just wanted to snarl at the bastard. What was the fucking point doing of all that? They'd called them over just to confirm who they were? What the fuck? 

He glanced at B-01 and Xeno. B-01 hadn't moved, and she signalled to both of them not to either. Lex nodded, Xeno doing the same. 

"Thank you, Yuri," B-01 said, and then threw her voice in a different direction, making it sound like they were leaving. 

"Just one more thing," Yuri said and Lex narrowed his eyes. Something was off about all this. What were they trying to find out? 

Movement caught Lex's eye, and he caught Xeno signalling, 'Four targets moving.'

_Fuck_. The bastards were trying to get them while their backs were turned. 

"Yes, Yuri? How may I help you?"

"We have recently had a breach in security."

Lex froze, his eyes going wide, his breath caught in his throat. It had been less than an hour, and the Union had found out they'd been hacked into and tracked them down? _Shit_.

"We think it was just a glitch," Yuri continued, "but if you know anything that could help us in our investigation, it would be quite helpful."

Lex flexed his hands, his fur growing on his arms. He didn't know why Yuri wasn't outright ordering them to tell him information, but maybe it was mind games – he knew the scientists like doing shit like that just for their own amusement. 

"Of course," B-01 said. "The Union's servers must be protected at all times. However, I do not know anything about it."

One side of Lex's mouth curled up. 

"Under regulation section five, subsection ten and twelve, we are required to inform the Union if we become aware of a breach and apprehend those responsible." 

"Thank you, B-01," Yuri said, his tone softer. "Your cooperation has been…stellar." 

"No," B-01 said, "I must thank you. It has been an honour."

Lex snorted. She had _definitely_ learned how to lie. 

'Four targets, coming closer.'

Motherfucking-! Lex placed his hand on the car, hearing his claws scrape the body as he prepared to launch himself in whatever direction he needed to. 

"Forgive me for pointing this out, but do you have company, Yuri? My team is becoming quite anxious." 

"'Quite'?" Lex repeated under his breath. _That_ was an understatement. 

"Was there an evaluation I was not informed of?" B-01 asked. 

"No, not at all. You may go." 

"So we can show our backs to you?" Lex muttered. "Fuck you, asshole." 

"Not when I am forced to believe that my cell is in danger, Yuri," B-01 said. She made running noises. 

B-01 signalled next, 'Cover your ears.'

_Fuck_. Lex knew what she was going to do next, and he grimaced, doing as she ordered. But if it was painful for him, he didn't know what the hell it was like for Xeno – but then, he had special earplugs just for that. 

Even with the warning, Lex still flinched, the shriek still beating his head, reverberating in his chest as he hunched over. He thought he maybe felt some thumps coming up from the ground, and he peeked at B-01. She signalled that they should leave first. 

Lex dashed away as soon as he saw that, not sure how long she would be able to keep screaming; even with her nanotech helping her, she could only hold so much air in her lungs. 

Two seconds after B-01 stopped screaming, the security door started opening and Lex had to avoid smacking his head off the bottom of it. 

A bullet whizzed by Lex's arm and he snarled, seeing four guards positioned around the exit. _Shit_. He could hear Xeno and B-01 coming up after him and Lex bared his teeth at the soldiers, slashing downwards. 

The attack took out one solider, and made the solider beside him scramble out the way. 

It was enough, and Lex dashed through the gap he'd created, not bothering with the other soldiers – it would take up time and every second they wasted meant there was more chance of being hit with the specialised tranquiliser bullets. 

It didn't take them long to round enough corners so the bullets were no longer a threat. Lex and Xeno followed B-01, since she could see the safe routes they could take, but they didn't stop, not when the Union could have put more soldiers in front of them to wait. 

When B-01 slowed to a stop, Lex did the same as he narrowed his eyes, glancing at Xeno. Xeno stopped as well, but he shook his head. 

"Can't hear anything that well at the moment," Xeno said, his words punctured with deep gasps. 

"There are five soldiers coming towards us from ahead," B-01 said, and Lex growled. Now that B-01 had told them, Lex could hear the stamp of heavy boots coming their way. 

"Xeno," she continued as she turned to face them, "transform and launch us up there." B-01 pointed straight up. 

Lex followed where her finger was indicating and then grimaced. Ah, fuck. He _hated_ doing this, but it would get the soldiers off their tail for a bit. 

"Hah, okay." Xeno nodded, transforming his arm. The black tentacles condensed around his fist, making it look more like a club. 

While B-01 jumped up onto Xeno's arm, Lex kept an eye and ear out. The footsteps were getting closer and Lex pulled out one of his knives, twirling it between his fingers as he eyed the end of the alley. 

"Lex."

"Right." He jumped up and landed on Xeno's outstretched arm, and Xeno launched him up. It felt like his stomach had been jerked down to his knees, and he landed next to B-01. He looked over the edge, in case Xeno needed back-up. 

One black-clad soldier rounded the corner and Lex buried the knife in their head, dropping them instantly. Xeno leaped up, landing next to him, and they threw themselves back just as the bullets whizzed past them. 

"Haaa, fuck," Lex said, eyeing the gouges in the concrete for a second before following the others as they bounded to the next rooftop. 

"So," he said, "where we going?" The soldiers would take too long to follow them up there, but he'd rather not hang about. 

"Do you mind camping outside in a temperature that may drop to minus fifteen celsius?" B-01 asked, looking at both of them. 

"If it keeps us away from the Union for longer," Lex said, snorting, "no." There was no way they'd be able to keep themselves hidden for long, and they were making things worse for themselves, but Lex didn't give a fuck. The less time spent inside a Union building, the better. 

"Ah, I don't mind," Xeno said, his head turned towards where the soldiers were. 

"Very well," B-01 said. "There are many cellphone towers in this city – I need to get near one."

Lex eyed her. "More hacking?" That was why they were in this situation in the first place. 

"Not at all," B-01 said. "They only know where you two are through me."

…Fuck, really? 

"If I disappear, then so do you. I want to be near a cellphone tower to block my signal frequency. A radio tower might suffice, too."

"Heh," Lex said, smirking. "A little temperature drop's fine." 

"Then 'let's ride'," B-01 said.

"B-01, we're _running_ there – we don't have - argh, whatever," Lex said,


	3. Re-call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BLX-3 are re-called.

Xeno braided the tip of his braid, just so his fingers had something to do. Down below BLX-3, past the metal beams that made up the radio tower they'd taken up residence he could see the tiny multi-coloured lights of passing cars and tiny streetlights and everything else that illuminated the streets. At their height, only the occasional car horn carried up to them on the wind. 

He bit his lip, letting go of his braid as his stomach churned, feeling like it had decided to start chewing his intestines. Xeno hunched his shoulders, trying to even out his breathing so the other two-

"Are you _cold_?"

Dammit. Sometimes Lex couldn't see what was right in front of him; other times, he saw _everything_. "Mm, no," Xeno said, shaking his head, looking across to Lex. 

Unlike Xeno, who was leaning back on a support beam, all his limbs tucked safely away from the edge where he couldn't potentially fall, Lex was, as he usually was, lounged across a beam, one leg dangling over the edge while his other leg was pulled up beside him, an arm draped around his knee. B-01 was on the other side of Lex, both of her legs over the edge. 

Lex frowned, his gaze flicking over him. "Then what is it?"

He took in a breath, his eyes dropping back to his braid as his fingers found it again. "I just ran out of pills." He'd tried to make them last as long as possible but there were only so many he had. 

Lex jerked back, hissing. "Shit."

B-01 nodded. "We will return to the Union."

"Ah…" Xeno hunched his shoulders, staring at the ground below again, his hair floating in front of his eyes. He let out a small sigh, trying to brush them behind his ears, but they were too short. He stared at the strands. Since when had that been happening…? His hair had been breaking since he'd first gotten out the tank, but the hair around his face weren't usually that numerous. Now, they looked like there was enough to make a fairly thick braid with them. 

But it made sense. He looked down at his braid again – it was about half the width it used to be when B-01 first tied it up into a braid. 

"I need to replenish my liquid ration 'stash'."

He blinked, raising his head. Oh, of course; he wasn't the only one who was tied to the Union. Xeno mustered up a smile. It was more forced than usual – he could feel it, and Lex gazing at him through his hair confirmed it. 

Lex only made a short huffing sound though, getting to his feet. 

Xeno did the same, putting a hand on the beam beside him as he looked up at the stars. "The sooner we go back, the faster we can leave again." 

"Affirm – hm." Xeno glanced at B-01, his eyebrows drawn together. Had they stayed away too long? Was she about to collapse again? They would be able to break into another house if she needed an outlet, but her liquid rations were only made by the Union. Maybe if he hadn't-

"Okay," B-01 said, her head tilted towards them, watching him and Lex. 

Xeno blinked, and then dipped his head, chuckling, his smile easing into something more natural as his panicked heartbeat settled down. 

Lex snorted, but Xeno could see his shoulders shaking slightly, and he could hear Lex's soft laugh. "Swearing makes you sound normal," Lex reminded her, and Xeno's lips twitched. Lex and B-01 had already had that conversation a couple times with the same results. 

"I asked what could help make me sound more human," B-01 said, getting up, "but I do not wish to swear." 

"Fine, whatever," Lex said, shrugging. 

It took them a minute to reach the radio tower's base and then they started to head towards the lab. 

For the first couple of minutes, Xeno could follow B-01 and Lex, but then a wave of nausea rolled into him. It wasn't strong enough to make him falter, but with every bound, every landing on the solid rooftops, Xeno's head swam at the impact. 

Dammit. He must have left it too long between his pills. 

After one particular jump, Xeno nearly stumbled over his own feet, feeling like he was about to retch up all the contents of his stomach. 

The feeling thankfully faded after a few deep gasps and Xeno closed his eyes, softly shaking his head. He couldn't waste time waiting to recover, not when he'd feel better after having a pill rather than only resting. 

When Xeno opened his eyes, he blinked - B-01 and Lex weren't as far ahead of him as he thought they would be. 

Taking another deep breath, Xeno started catching up to them. 

Except only a few minutes later, Xeno had to stop completely, trying to not hunch over when it felt like his heart was slamming against his ribcage. 

While he was trying to get his breathing and heartbeat back to normal, Xeno looked up to see where B-01 and Lex were. His eyebrows drew together when he saw they'd stopped only one rooftop away. 

Why had they… Oh. He smiled and waited to recover some more before going to catch up. 

"The Union has ordered we return," B-01 said when he caught up with them. 

Xeno winced. Dread pooled in his stomach, accompanying the pain already there. 

"For more useless questions?" Lex asked, a growl under his words. 

"I am unsure," B-01 said. "However, it is not something we can ignore."

Lex snorted as they started running again.

* * *

The tiled walls in laboratory seven were beige – they had probably been sparkling white when they'd just been put in, but years of hundreds of people milling about had left their permanent mark that couldn't be scrubbed away.

Focusing on the walls as he followed B-01 was probably the only thing that kept Xeno's mind off the fact that every step took them closer to their destination, as well as trying to keep himself from thinking about the growing pain in his stomach. The Union hadn't given B-01 any more information other than they were to report back, which could mean anything. 

The low hum of electricity was constantly at the edge of Xeno's awareness, an undercurrent to the murmur of voices that surrounded them, but there was enough around that he couldn't focus on any one of them. He could hear the same when BLX-3 were outside the laboratory, but when they were at the laboratory, it seemed like it was so much more concentrated, stifling him. 

Something was off though, and Xeno couldn't help noticing a few worried glances shared between scientists, their conversations more hushed. BLX-3 was drawing more scrutinising gazes than usual and Xeno bit his lip, casting his gaze elsewhere, hoping for something else to distract himself. They _had_ attacked Yuri, but Xeno hoped the attention was for something else. 

He saw Doctor Helm, Doctor Duarte, and Doctor Limbourg standing ahead of them instead. There were a number of soldiers surrounding them too. Oh, no…

He heard Lex's quiet growl beside him, and both Lex's and B-01's heartbeats picked up at the same time. 

There was only one reason why those doctors would be together: they were going to be evaluated. Xeno could feel his scalp itch, knowing what was going to happen next. 

"B-01," Doctor Duarte greeted as she looked over all three of them, a small smile on her lips. 

"Doctor," B-01 said, stopping in front of her and bowing. 

"We will discuss your behaviour in your previous mission, and seeing as BLX-3 is here," Doctor Duarte said, her smile widening and Xeno's stomach clenched at the sight, "then we can also evaluate you at the same time." 

Xeno hid his wince as best as he could, hearing Lex's growl turn into a hiss before he cut it off. 

While Doctor Duarte led B-01 away, a soldier following them, Xeno went up to Doctor Helm, smiling at her and bowed. 

When he straightened, she was studying his face, and he wondered how much she had picked up – how pale he was, how much of his hair he'd lost. She turned away and Xeno fell in step behind her, another solider following them. 

"L-68," Xeno heard behind him, "it's very nice to see you again."

"Right," Lex muttered, and Xeno winced.

"Now, now, L-68," Doctor Limbourg said, his cheerful tone exactly the same, and that was the problem – you never knew when Doctor Limbourg was angry just by his voice, "what do we say?" 

Xeno could hear Lex grinding his teeth. "Hello, _sir_."

"X-87," Doctor Helm sighed, and Xeno flinched, returning his attention to her. 

"Ah, yes?" He resisted the urge to tug at the tip of his braid. 

"You're usually better behaved than this," Doctor Helm admonished. "I'm surprised you didn't try to convince your cell to see Yuri immediately instead of attacking him and playing that cat and mouse game afterwards." 

"I'm supposed to listen to my bioroid's orders," Xeno said quietly, trying to sound as compliant as possible, seeing the evaluation room door loom closer and closer. That was why they had been created: to support their bioroid. And anyone who wasn't a scientist or B-01 trying to order Lex to do something was laughable. If Lex wanted to do something, he went and did it without a second thought; someone who tried to stop him tended to, if they were lucky, get a fist to the face or Lex getting into their personal space and snarling until they backed off. If they weren't lucky, it was claws or knives to the throat. 

Doctor Helm sighed again. "You can leave," she told the soldier. "We're in no danger here." Because they knew Xeno wouldn't dare attack them, not when they were the ones who made the pills that stabilised his body when it decided to start breaking down again. Without them, he'd die a painful death. 

"Ma'am." The soldier saluted and left. 

The door hissed open, a couple conversations reaching Xeno's ears before the scientists inside stopped to see who was entering. 

"- _seen_ this data?"

"-has to be HUS again-"

"-nothing left of-"

"X-87, on the table." 

"Yes, ma'am," Xeno said, following Doctor Helm to the surgical table she had indicated, undoing his braid as he saw Doctor Yoo approach. He sat on the edge, steeling himself before Doctor Yoo's fingers went through his hair, touching his scalp, and lifted his hair away. Xeno still tensed at the touch, no matter how many times he'd gone through this. Doctor Yoo leaned in and peered at his hair. 

"Hm," he said. "Blue is starting to come through," he observed, and Xeno sighed. Good. That meant his body was stabilising. "It's faded though, not as strong as X-61's."

The next second, Doctor Yoo grabbed a handful of hair and yanked. His hand came away with barely any resistance. Xeno couldn't stop his wince out of habit, even though his hair hadn't been pulled out at the roots. 

"His hair's still weak," Doctor Yoo said as he dropped Xeno's hair in a disposal unit. 

Xeno could feel an itchiness build up in the back of his throat. No. Dammit, not _now_. Xeno wanted to hiss, clench his teeth, but that would make it worse and he knew _not_ coughing made it build on itself until he couldn't stop it and then he couldn't _stop_ , until everything hurt, his chest aching, his throat raw, his brain slamming against his skull. 

He brought up a hand and coughed into it (more like wheezed a couple of times, compared to what it could have been). When he was done, Xeno pulled his hand away and glanced at his palm – no blood this time. That was good. He let out a small breath, his shoulders relaxing.

Doctor Helm caught his wrist as Xeno was putting his hand down and turned it so his palm faced the ceiling. She studied it for a second before flicking her eyes to him. "What were you checking for?"

Oh, _dammit_. He couldn't lie to them, not when there was too much of a chance of being found out. And then if they didn't trust him to tell the truth and had to double-check everything… It meant he would stay longer in the lab. 

"I was looking for blood, ma'am," Xeno answered, trying to keep eye contact with her when he wanted to look at the floor. "I sometimes cough it up." 

Doctor Helm frowned, pushing her glasses up her nose. "It may be an idea to use the new mixture." Apprehension filled Xeno's stomach. They were talking about a new pill. That…could be bad.

Doctor Yoo raised his eyebrows before sliding his eyes to him. …Xeno didn't like what that look could mean.

While Doctor Yoo went to get the new batch, Xeno's ears seemed to zero in on one particular conversation that was happening to his left. 

"-completely purple hair? How'd that happen?"

"Ha, you haven't seen him before, Bon-hwa? X-87 was premature – they took him out the tank before he was ready because nearly all the others were good to go." 

Xeno couldn't stop listening, even though he didn't want to. It was like his ears were in control, not him, and they wanted to remind him just how different he was from the rest of the X-series. How weak he was. (Except he already had a daily reminder - every time he coughed, every time he had to swallow a pill, every time he had to hold back to make sure he wouldn't overexert himself.) 

"He's the last to be on the pills _and_ his blue hair's not fully come out yet." A small sigh. "They're probably still doing this for data. Not sure why."

Doctor Yoo came back with a popper of pills and Xeno smiled at him. "Thank you," he said as he took it from him. Smiling meant he was fine, he was still relatively healthy. If he didn't have the strength to smile, then they would think he was even weaker and kill him. 

The pill he shook out was a lighter shade of blue than his previous batch, looking like a splash of green had been thrown in for good measure. 

Xeno could feel his temperature rising, sweat forming on his brow. Before he could start coughing again, Xeno threw the pill in his mouth and swallowed it. 

He almost hacked it up again straight after. It was like the pill was covered in spikes, unwilling to go down as it dragged his throat with it. His throat burned worse than if he'd had a coughing fit, like he'd swallowed acid instead. 

When it finally passed through to his stomach, Xeno no longer felt like he was going to start coughing, his temperature lowering. Instead, all the lights in the room doubled in strength, blinding him. 

Xeno's clenched his hands on the edge of the table as he tried to keep himself from reacting. 

"X-87, your arm." 

"Yes, ma'am," Xeno said, smiling again as he raised his arm. Doctor Helm's fingers felt like they were burning his suddenly sensitive skin, the contact feeling like they were raking layers off his arm. 

He almost missed the needle sliding in amongst all the other sensations. His eyesight returned to normal just as the syringe was completely filled. 

"You're free to go," Doctor Yoo said, and Xeno nodded, putting the popper in the bag on his belt. 

"Thank you." Standing up was all right, but moving made the world tilt at a dangerous angle.

The hair at Xeno's nape prickled, as he felt eyes on him, but he concentrated on just putting on foot in front of the other until he left the room. Even after the door hissed shut behind him, Xeno didn't dare relax or lean on the wall like he desperately wanted to, not when the corridor was filled with people and cameras. 

The route back was engraved in his mind though, after all the previous trips, so Xeno counted the steps until he got to BLX-3's room. 

He still felt weak, and it was like he was walking a foot off the ground. Xeno smiled in people's direction, even while the lights overhead seemed to flash, the corners of his vision brightened at random intervals as well. 

The side effects had worn off just as he reached their room, and Xeno could hear one heartbeat inside, moving closer and then further away, a continuous growl accompanying it. Lex. Xeno's smile softened as he pushed the door open. 

Lex jerked his head towards him and huffed at the sight of him, still growling. "Hey."

"She's not back yet," Xeno stated, shutting the door behind himself, not feeling the energy to return Lex's greeting. 

Lex snorted. "No." 

Xeno bit his lip as he went to his cot and eased himself onto it, lying down. B-01 was usually the last to return from an evaluation, so it wasn't out of the ordinary, but after what had happened in their previous mission, it was still worrying. 

Lex eyed him for a few seconds, his eyes flicking up and down Xeno's body, before he started to pace the room again. 

B-01 had disobeyed direct Union orders. With a regular modified human, the consequences were already high, but B-01 was a bioroid – obeying the Union was one of the highest things on her priority list. 

Next to the safety of her cell. 

Xeno had assumed the Union's orders ranked higher than their safety but with B-01… Her personality matrix was developing a lot faster than he'd been told it would. Or could. 

He tumbled off to sleep without realising it, and was woken up by a light knock at the door. He lifted his head slightly to see who it was, feeling better than before he'd slept but not quite one-hundred percent. He blinked when his cot moved, Lex getting off it –Xeno more felt his newly-made braid thumping on the mattress than heard it- and strode over to the door but it opened before he got there. 

B-01 walked in, her head tilted forward, her eyelids a little lower than usual. That alone said she was tired, and Xeno wondered what had happened in her re-evaluation. 

"You okay?" Lex asked her, and she nodded. 

"Yes."

Lex frowned, watching her close the door. "What did you tell 'em?"

B-01 blinked. "That I felt my team was in danger."

"They just accepted that?" Lex scoffed, his eyebrows drawn.

B-01 nodded. "They are aware that my top priorities may conflict with each other."

"An' they don't _care_?" Lex said incredulously, his eyebrows drawing in further. Xeno wasn't sure he agreed with him – the thought of the Union allowing their orders to be ignored, and even their people being killed… Xeno had heard rumours about other modified humans attempting that, but depending on who was telling the story, it ended differently – the modified human was killed, the fact the modified human had killed Union personnel was covered up, or the modified human was even promoted. And seeing it was the Union, Xeno could imagine all of them happening.

"They do," B-01 said. "But your safety and following the Union's orders are of equal importance." She blinked. "To me, your safety is more important." 

And she'd proven that. 

"So, they didn't punish you?" Xeno asked, looking her over, wanting to make sure. 

She shook her head. "They did not." She didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I do not remember what happened in my evaluation, however," she said, a solitary click escaping her throat. 

Xeno frowned. When B-01 started clicking, that was the closest indication she could do to show distress. She didn't normally remember what happened in her evaluation but with what had happened…

She looked at him. "Xeno, why are you lying in your cot?"

He smiled back at her, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "They gave me new pills."

He stopped breathing when B-01's eyes flashed red before flicking back to their normal blue. Xeno glanced at Lex, wondering if he'd caught it this time, but Lex was studying _him_ , frowning. Dammit. 

"That's, what, the fourth new pill they've given you, isn't it?"

"…Fifth," Xeno corrected, shooting B-01 another look. Her eyes were still blue and she didn't seem to be acting any differently from before. She hadn't the last time he'd seen it either, when they were going to meet Yuri. 

"These ones make you vomit blood?" Lex asked, pulling his attention away from her. 

Xeno couldn't stop his grimace remembering that particular batch. "No. But the side effects for these ones seem worse than my last." 

Lex's frown deepened. The previous pill had made his skin itch and suppressed his appetite, but he'd prefer that over the vertigo and everything else the new pill gave him. 

"I am going to 'catch some zs'," B-01 said, and Xeno nodded, watching her as she went to her charging dock. She put her backpack down on the floor and rummaged through it until she pulled out her collar. After putting it on, B-01 stepped into the dock, and plugged herself into it. Her eyes dimmed a few seconds later. 

Xeno chewed on the inside of his lip as he studied her. She was sleeping now, but he didn't know how much she could hear and remember when she was like that. He glanced at Lex, a little unsure, but Lex just looked back at him, a small worried frown on his face. 

Ah, maybe it was better if he didn't talk to Lex about what he was thinking about. He'd only seen B-01's eyes go red twice (if he didn't count the previous times when they'd been in a fight, but that was exactly the problem – there had been no reason for why she should have done that. The only times her eyes turned red when she felt she was facing a threat.) so he couldn't be sure of the cause of it yet. It was just the timing of the first one, happening just after she'd hacked into the Union database. It seemed like too much of a coincidence. 

That, and, putting it mildly, Lex was _extremely_ blunt and to the point. If he brought this up with Lex, Lex wouldn't wait and observe – he didn't have the patience for that. Instead, he would go straight to the heart of the matter and ask B-01 about it. 

Xeno didn't want to bring this to B-01's attention yet, in case he was wrong and it was nothing. …And he didn't want her to know in case he was _right_ either, because he didn't want to think about what could happen, not when the Union was already monitoring their movements – if they were monitoring their conversations through B-01, or she was telling them… That would endanger him and Lex. 

It didn't change the fact that she was a bioroid and her persocom could be overridden with the right security level and commands. Sighing, Xeno turned over and closed his eyes again. He would wait and see if her eyes kept changing and if there was a pattern to it. Then he'd figure out what to do.

* * *

"What the fuck?" Lex snarled a couple days later as he stalked from one end of their room to the other. "It's been three fuckin' _days_ \- why the fuck are we still here?"

"For a 'time out'," B-01 said as she sat on Lex's cot. "Possibly. There may not be any available missions."

Lex snorted, scowling at the door. "Then they should just let us out while we wait – it won't make any difference."

Xeno wasn't sure. He had the inkling suspicion that they were being kept back for observation – if he had any adverse reactions that didn't show up until he'd taken more pills, and to see if B-01 would disobey orders again. The second one wouldn't work though, because B-01 didn't have any orders _to_ disobey, and over the last couple of days, he hadn't seen her eyes flash red again. He might have missed them though, and Xeno wasn't sure if Lex not bringing it up meant her eyes hadn't changed or if Lex had missed them as well. 

At least the side effects of the pills had faded a little, being more manageable. He'd gained a bit of his appetite back, though his stomach tended to feel a little unsettled for a few hours after he'd taken one. He felt a bit lethargic too, but that only lasted for as long as his unsettled stomach. 

B-01's eyes half-closed. "Incoming message: BLX-29, BLX-11 and BLX-45 succeeded in their mission. Their status is-" A crease appeared between her eyebrows. "-dead."

" _Fuck_." 

Xeno fiddled with his water bottle, staring at the floor. He knew what Lex was going to ask next. 

"Were their missions classified?"

"Yes." 

Xeno pursed his lips and sipped from his water bottle. He made a face at the taste and wondered if it would change again, now that he had new pills. 

"The scientists don't want any of us survivin' to tell what the fuck they were doin'," Lex said, growling. 

"'Objection'," B-01 said, and Xeno turned to her, his eyebrows drawn. "There's one cell that has survived whatever the Union is doing." 

"There was?" Lex said, and then frowned. "Ah, shit, what was their number?"

"BLX-95," Xeno reminded him. Rank six. 

"'Bingo'."

If a high ranker survived the last one… "Ah, B-01, what were the rankings of the cells that died?"

"Accessing…" B-01 said, her eyes going half-closed again. "BLX-29, rank ten. BLX-11, rank seventeen. BLX-45, rank fourteen."

Those numbers seemed more random, but Xeno wasn't sure if that was reassuring or not. The scientists weren't targeting any specific skills or traits, but if anyone could be chosen to do the classified mission…

"I could invest-" 

"Fuck no," Lex spat before Xeno realised what B-01 was suggesting. "The last time you did, it fuckin' dropped you!" 

"I…have to agree with Lex," Xeno said. They had been tracked down almost instantly; if B-01 were to do that _inside_ the Union, she would get caught. 

B-01 just blinked at them. "There's 'more than one way to skin a cat'."

…That one was a little morbid and Lex snorted. 

"If I can get in contact with B-05 –the leader of BLX-95- I may be able to ask her what her mission contained."

Lex squinted at her. "You don't sound that sure."

"I'm not," B-01 said, blinking. "The B-series' wireless communication between each other is monitored by the Union; I will not be able to contact her without possibly drawing their attention. Even if I'm able to get in contact with her without the Union's knowledge, the topic is…delicate." Her eyebrows drew in slightly. 

"B-05 may be unwilling to exchange information in the best scenario. In the worst scenario, she could deem my inquiry as traitorous against the Union."

Xeno let out a breath. And traitors were killed as soon as they were discovered. 

"I will have to 'tread carefully' and-" B-01 stopped, blinking. "We have a new mission."

"Fuckin' _finally_ ," Lex said, lifting his upper lip in a feral smile. "What is it?"

When B-01 didn't answer immediately, Xeno's mouth went dry, his stomach feeling like he'd swallowed another pill. No. They couldn't have. 

"The mission is ranked 'Classified'."

* * *

Yonsu glared at the wreckage of the KSA side branch building around her and Sangeen, watching people dashing from place to place, trying to put out the last of the fires and finding out who had survived.

She glanced down at the scanner in her hand, made strong enough that the metal only squeaked instead of crumpling inside her tight grip, the three red blips that had been there a few minutes ago gone from the screen. 

It had been a waste of lives, especially when they had so little people to spare, but they'd found out what they needed to. Now they just had to make it last longer. 

And she also knew one certain chairman who would be interesting in what had just happened, seeing how she'd recognised two faces on _six_ bodies, even with their different hair colours and younger faces. 

Just what the hell was the Union doing _now_?


End file.
